Velotric Nomad 2 review: A feature-packed fat-tire e-bike with crazy comfort
Fat-tire electric bikes are all the rage these days, designed to triumph on the trails but just as often seen conquering the pavement. Now the newly-released Velotric Nomad 2 is here to take a slice of that adventure-ready market. Designed for riders who want a mix of commuting practicality and off-road capability, this e-bike brings a powerful motor, excellent comfort, and a surprising amount of premium features at a relatively affordable price. But how well does it actually perform? I put it to the test to find out.
Velotric Nomad 2 Video Review
Velotric Nomad 2 Tech Specs
- Motor: 750W rear hub motor with 90Nm of torque
- Top speed: 28 mph (50 km/h) when unlocked to Class 3 mode
- Range: Claimed up to 65 miles (up to 105 km)
- Battery: 48V 14.7Ah 705Wh
- Weight: 75 lb (34 kg)
- Load capacity: 505 lb (230 kg)
- Frame: Aluminum alloy
- Tires: 26×4.0″ puncture-resistant fat tires
- Brakes: Dual-piston Tektro hydraulic disc brakes on 203/180mm rotors (front/rear)
- Price: US $1,999
- Extras: Color LCD display with USB-C phone charging port, 15 pedal assist levels, front and rear LED light with brake light and rear turn signals, 100mm travel hydraulic suspension fork, kickstand, internally routed cables, removable battery, cadence sensor and torque sensor (user selectable to switch back and forth between the two), UL-compliant battery and e-bike system, adjustable stem, and suspension seat post
Big on power, big on tires!
At the heart of the Nomad 2 is a 750-watt rear hub motor cranking out 90 newton-meters of torque. With all the new regulations hitting e-bikes, Velotric seems to be a bit cagier about publishing peak power specs, but the motor feels like it’s one of those 1,300-ish peak watt motors, and the 90 Nm torque spec reveals there’s some serious oomph in that hub motor! That’ll make it strong enough to take on steep hills and power through loose terrain like sand or gravel without breaking a sweat.
I’m glad to see a torque sensor included on the bike for smoother and more responsive pedal assist, but interestingly, riders can toggle between cadence and torque sensing in the settings, which is a unique touch for a bike at this price. The torque sensor offers a more natural pedal feel, responding to how hard you push, while the cadence mode is better suited for those who just want an easy ride with minimal effort. In effect, the cadence sensor basically works like a foot-activated throttle. If your feet are moving, the motor is working.
In practice, both work well, though torque sensing is where you’ll get the best mix of efficiency and responsiveness that makes it feel more like a pedal bike… just a pedal bike being ridden by someone with a professional cyclist’s tree trunk leg muscles.
Speaking of having the power to handle loose terrain like sand and soil, the Nomad 2 rides on 26-inch fat tires, meaning you get plenty of grip and rollover capability for uneven terrain. It also comes with a 100mm travel front suspension fork, helping to smooth out the bumps. And to add even more comfort, a parallel linkage suspension seat post gives you a nicer ride on your own caboose than the cheaper telescoping suspension seat posts we often see. Velotric spent the extra change necessary to upgrade that component, and it’s one you can really feel when the riding gets bumpy. A quality suspension seat post like this makes a big difference. It’s not the same as true rear suspension, but it goes a lot of the way there for casual riders wanting to take the jolts out of their riding. Combined with that hydraulic suspension fork, the bike rides quite nicely on uneven terrain.
The Nomad 2 ships in 20 mph (32 km/h) top speed mode, but you can go into the settings and unlock a top. speed of 28 mph (45 km/h) on pedal assist. You’re still limited to 20 mph on throttle, but pedaling gets you the higher speed for long straightaways that are more fun at higher speeds.
You can even limit the speed lower if you’d like, down to 12 mph (20 km/h). Basically, you’ve got a lot of room to play around with limits on the bikes.
The 705 Wh battery is UL-certified and claims a range of up to 65 miles (105 km), though that’s in ideal conditions with pedal assist. In the real world, they claim a throttle range of 45 miles (72 km) on throttle when riding on flat ground. If you’re a heavier rider or have less-than-ideal conditions, you’ll get a bit less. But with a big 700+ Wh battery, there’s still plenty of energy in there for long rides, especially since few of us spend more than 40 miles in a row in the saddle on any single ride.
Charging is relatively fast, taking about five hours from empty thanks to the 3A charger. The battery is removable, so you can bring it inside to charge instead of hauling the whole bike to an outlet. At 75 lb (34 kg), hauling the entire bike around is a bit of a chore, so removable batteries are a must for many people who don’t have easy access to an outlet, such as in a garage. Apartment dwellers with bike rooms on the ground floor, I see you because I am one of you.
With hydraulic disc brakes on 203mm front and 180mm rear rotors, the Nomad 2 has plenty of stopping power. The brake levers feel solid, and there’s no mushy response when grabbing a handful of brake at speed.
Quality brakes are a must for a powerful, fast, and heavy electric bike. Velotric definitely delivered there.
Handling is predictable and stable, thanks in part to Velotric’s frame geometry, which helps the bike feel planted at higher speeds. Even with the bulk of a fat-tire bike, it never felt too unwieldy.
There are even two sizes available so riders can choose a frame closer to their ideal size. That also helps out shorter and taller riders who tend to find themselves at the extreme ends of the size spectrum on one-size-fits-all electric bikes. With multiple sizes, plus options for step-over and step-thru frames, riders have a lot of fitment choices.
Velotric packed in a surprising amount of tech for a bike in this price range. The 2.4-inch color display is bright and easy to read, offering all the ride stats you’d expect. The bike is also Apple Find My compatible, meaning if someone swipes it, you’ll have a shot at tracking it down, as long as you have an iPhone. I LOVE when companies incorporate this technology because it gives me added peace of mind knowing there’s some hope of finding my bike if it ever walks off.
Other notable features include an AirLock system for keyless unlocking via the Velotric app, a 360-degree lighting setup, including an automatic headlight that adjusts brightness based on surroundings, and integrated rear turn signals. I often ridicule e-bike makers for including turn signals that are unclear and a waste of space. In this case, Velotric’s are actually decent, though still not idea. They’re pretty close to the centerline of the bike making it a bit hard to tell that they are directional signals, but the amber color instead of red does help somewhat distinguish them. These have a prayer of being understood to be directional indicators, though I definitely still signal with my arms when I want to be more confident that drivers understand what I’m about to do. I know some of them will still be oblivious, but I want to give myself the best odds possible.
Overall, I’d say the lighting features are a welcome upgrade in the commuter-friendly category. Adding in the included rear rack and fender set, which both come standard, makes this fat tire adventure bike equally read for on-road commuting adventures.
Closing thoughts
I think it is fair to say that the Velotric Nomad 2 isn’t a hardcore trail bike, but it’s also not just a casual cruiser. It hits a nice middle ground for riders who want an all-terrain e-bike that’s just as comfortable on pavement as it is on dirt trails.
At $1,999, it’s not the cheapest fat-tire e-bike out there, but for the build quality and features, it puts up a good fight. You can definitely get your off-roading rocks off for less money elsewhere, but the added features like solid lighting, UL certification, submersible battery, location tracking, cadence/torque sensor selection, and more all combine to add some real value here that you don’t find from many other brands. It’s also backed by a solid company with many years of solid reputation building, which is becoming more important in an industry flooded with questionable brands still popping up all over the place.
I’d say that the Nomad 2 delivers a lot for the money, especially when you factor in its power, range, hydraulic brakes, and premium tech features. It’s smooth, fast, and versatile enough to handle commuting, off-road riding, and everything in between.
Velotric clearly put effort into refining the ride experience, and it shows. While it doesn’t reinvent the fat-tire e-bike, it does a lot of things right—and that’s exactly what most riders need.
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Capable of delivering up to 1,200 kW of power to get electric commercial trucks back on the road in minutes, the new ABB MCS1200 Megawatt Charging System is part of an ecosystem of electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) that ABB’s bringing to this year’s ACT Expo.
ABB E-mobility is using the annual clean trucking conference to showcase the expansion of its EVSE portfolio with three all-new charger families: the field-upgradable A200/300 All-in-One chargers, the MCS1200 Megawatt Charging System for heavy-duty vehicles shown (above), and the ChargeDock Dispenser for flexible depot charging.
The company said its new product platform was built by applying a computer system-style domain separation to charger design, fundamentally improving subsystem development and creating a clear path forward for site and system expansion. In other words, ABB is selling a system with both future-proofing and enhanced dependability baked in.
“We have built a system by logically separating a charger into four distinct subsystems … each functioning as an independent subsystem,” explains Michael Halbherr, CEO of ABB E-mobility. “Unlike conventional chargers, where a user interface failure can disable the entire system, our architecture ensures charging continues even if the screen or payment system encounters issues. Moreover, we can improve each subsystem at its own pace without having to change the entire system.”
The parts of ABB’s new EVSE portfolio that have been made public so far have already been recognized for design excellence, with the A400 winning the iF Gold Award and both the A400 and C50 receiving Red Dot Design Awards.
New ABB chargers seem pretty, good
ABB says the systemic separation of its EVSE enhances both reliability and quality, while making deployed chargers easier to diagnose and repair, in less time. Each of the chargers’ subsystems can be tested, diagnosed, and replaced independently, allowing for quick on-site repairs and update cycles tailored to the speed of each systems’ innovation. The result is 99% uptime and a more future-proof product.
“The EV charging landscape is evolving beyond point products for specific use cases,” continued Halbherr. “By implementing this modular approach with the majority of our R&D focused on modular platforms rather than one-off products … it reduces supply chain risks, while accelerating development cycles and enabling deeper collaboration with critical suppliers.”
Key markets ABB is chasing
- PUBLIC CHARGING – with the award winning A400 being the optimal fit for high power charging from highway corridors to urban locations, the latest additions to the A-Series All-in-One chargers offer a field-upgradable architecture allowing operators to start with the A200 (200kW) with the option to upgrade to 300kW or 400kW as demand grows. This approach offers scalability and protects customer investment, leading to Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) savings over 10 years.
- PUBLIC TRANSIT AND FLEET – the new Charge Dock Dispenser – in combination with the already in market available HVC 360 – simplifies depot charging with a versatile solution that supports pantograph-, roof-, and pedestal charging options with up to 360kW of shared power and 150m/490 ft installation flexibility between cabinet and dispensers. The dispenser maintains up to 500A output.
- HEAVY TRUCKS – building the matching charging infrastructure for commercial vehicles and fleets represents a critical innovation frontier on our journey to electrify transportation. Following extensive collaboration with industry-leading truck OEMs, the MCS1200 Megawatt Charging System delivers up to 1,200kW of continuous power — 20% more energy transfer than 1MW systems — providing heavy-duty vehicles with purpose-built single-outlet design for the energy they need during mandatory driver breaks. To support other use cases, such as CCS truck charging, a dual CCS and MCS option will also be available.
- RETAIL – the award winning C50 Compact Charger complements the family as the slimmest charger in its category at just 9.3 inches depth, optimized for convenient charging during typical one-hour retail experiences. With its large touch display, the C50 takes the award-winning A400 experience even further — setting a new standard for consumer experience and very neatly echoing our own take on that “Goldilocks” timing zone for commercial charging.
ABB says that the result of its new approach are chargers that offer 99% plus uptime — a crucial statistic for commercial charging operations and a key factor to ensuring customer satisfaction. The new ABB E-mobility EVSE product family will be on display for the first time at the Advanced Clean Transportation Expo (ACT Expo) in Anaheim, California next week, then again at Power2Drive in Munich, Germany, from May 7-9.
Electrek’s Take
The ACT Expo is one of – if not the most important sustainable trucking event in North America, featuring all the big names in heavy trucks, construction equipment, material handling, infrastructure – even Tier 1 suppliers. Mostly, though, it’s many fleet buyers’ only chance to test drive these zero emission trucks before writing a big PO (which just makes it even more important).
Electrek will be there again this year, and we’ll be bringing you all the latest news from press events and product reveals as it happens.
SOURCE | IMAGES: ABB E-mobility.
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Along with Tennessee Tech, Tennessee-based ultralight aircraft company Whisper Aero has secured a $500,000 grant to help advance the company’s innovative electric jet motor concept off the drawing board and onto the testing phase.
Earlier this month, the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD) announced plans to award $500,000 to Tennessee Tech and Whisper Aero through the Transportation Network Growth Opportunity (TNGO) initiative.
“We look forward to using these award dollars to place students in internships working directly with Whisper Aero leaders,” said Tennessee Tech President Phil Oldham. “By learning from an electric propulsion innovator like Whisper Aero, our students will gain invaluable perspective and can take what they have learned in the classroom and apply it right here in Tennessee.”
The grant will see a Whisper Aero glider fitted with a pair of the company’s eQ250 electric-powered jet “propulsors” for UltraQuiet flight. Tennessee Tech faculty and students will carry out copper-bird ground testing to ensure the safe integration of engines, batteries, and controllers, and kickstart Tennessee Tech’s new Crossville Mobility Incubator.
Those propulsors, by the way, are super cool.
Whisper Aero’s main claim to fame is its innovative UltraQuiet WhisperDrive (above). It’s effectively an electrically spun ducted fan jet engine that uses a large number of stiff composite fan blades inside a lightweight, acoustically treated duct. With so many blades, the Whisper Aero propulsor can push more air than a conventional prop while spinning much more slowly. As such, the “blade passage frequency” moves up to more than 16,000 Hz – outside the range of most human hearing but not, supposedly, high enough to freak out the beagles.
The Whisper Aero ultralight is effectively an Aériane Swift3 glider fitted with a pair of Whisper’s eQ250 propulsors, each capable of up to 80 lbs. of thrust. The Ultralight has a wingspan of over 40 ft with a maximum L/D of 35:1 and can be stressed to a design loading of +6/-4g, making it capable of some pretty impressive acrobatic feats.
The Swift3 glider is designed for a low speed, low power cruising speed of 45–55 knots with “just” 6.5 hp. Power-off glides from a few hundred feet showed a low sink rate, and a climb rate of 1,250 ft/min with full self-launching power (in other words: the Whisper glider doesn’t have to be towed by a launch vehicle, like a conventional ultralight glider).
Quiet cool
Range under full power is about 109 miles with current battery tech, but it’s expected that range under the latest EPiC 2.0 energy batteries would rise to nearly 170 miles.
Nathan Millecam, CEO of Electric Power System, said, “EPiC 2.0’s leap in energy density and thermal performance has enabled a significant increase in range, a clear validation of our next-gen cell technology. We are impressed by what the Whisper team continues to achieve in advancing electric aviation.”
The press release concludes explaining that flight tests are expected to show that the Whisper Aero glider can be flown, “a few hundred feet away from neighborhoods without any disturbances, while carrying a 220 lbs. payload with full range,” which is all kind of ominous in today’s political climate, but still pretty neat from a purely tech perspective.
The TNGO grant follows a separate grant from NASA awarded last year, though that grant aims to develop the eQ250s – not as a propulsion system, but as a key component in future spacecraft ventilation systems.
Tennessee Tech announces TNGO grant
With support from TNECD’s Transportation Network Growth Opportunity (TNGO) initiative, Tennessee Tech University and Whisper Aero are partnering to advance next-generation propulsion technology in the aerospace industry. This collaboration will enhance aerospace research and workforce development, ensuring Tennessee remains a leader in cutting-edge mobility solutions.
SOURCE | IMAGES: TNECD; via eVTOL Insights, New Atlas.
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A Tesla Cybertruck owner believed Elon Musk’s claims that the Cybertruck would be able to “act as a boat” and “cross rivers”, and he got his $100,000 stuck because of it.
Elon Musk has often made claims about how Tesla vehicles could float and briefly serve as a boat in the past.
We have never been taken too seriously because Tesla’s warranty states something different about taking the vehicle into water.
However, the CEO doubled down on the claim specifically for the Cybertruck.
Ahead of launching the production version of the Cybertruck, Musk claimed the vehicle would be “waterproof enough” to serve as a boat and cross rivers:
Cybertruck will be waterproof enough to serve briefly as a boat, so it can cross rivers, lakes and even seas that aren’t too choppy.
The CEO added that the goal is for a Cybertruck to be able to cross the water between SpaceX’s Starbase and South Padre Island in Texas, which is about 360 meters (1,100 feet).
We have been taking the Cybertruck more seriously with water because we learned that Tesla built a ‘wade mode’ for the truck to be able to go into the water. Tesla says the mode increases the ride height to the max and temporarily “pressurizes the battery pack.”
The problem is that it is activated through the off-roading mode, which is not covered under Tesla’s warranty – so we are taking everything with a grain of salt.
Whenever Tesla’s warranty contradicts what Musk says, it is better to follow to the warranty.
A Tesla Cybertruck owner in Truckee, California, appears not to have received this sage advice since they activated the wade mode and attempted to get into the water.
The Cybertruck owner quickly got stuck. The local California Highway Patrol (CHP) shared some pictures of the aftermath (via Facebook):
CHP Truckee helped with the recovery and commented on the incident:
Cybertruck activated “Wade Mode”… and waded a bit too far… We’re all for testing boundaries… but maybe not the waterline. Remember folks, “Wade Mode” isn’t “Submarine Mode.” If your plans include exploring the great outdoors, make sure to know your limits and the terrain.
There’s no detail on the damage to the Cybertruck, if any.
As we recently reported, repair costs for the stainless steel electric pickup truck can increase rapidly.
This Cybertruck owner is also not the first one to get stuck in water. We previously reported on a Tesla Cybertruck sinking into the water when launching a jet ski.
Electrek’s Take
At the risk of stating the obvious, this is clearly more of a user error than a Cybertruck problem.
I think the verdict is clear: Cybertruck is far from the best electric pickup truck for off-roading.
However, in general, you shouldn’t expect a truck to get out of water on a muddy bank.
I think a lot of Cybertruck owners are new to trucking and off-roading, and they are making the truck look worse than it is at off-roading.
If you want to take your Cybertruck off-road, I recommend to first go with an off-roading guide that can help avoid some simple mistakes like this.
Also, in general, don’t take Elon Musk’s claims at face value when he says that Tesla vehicles can do something that sounds like an exaggeration. It probably is an exaggeration.
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